Ariane de Gennaro

The holiday season is upon us. The New Haven tree is lit, and finals loom like the Grinch waiting to steal Christmas. Students trudge through their last assignments, eagerly awaiting the holiday season at home. As a first year bringing my first semester to a close, some reflection is in order; I will do so in style — and in the holiday spirit. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on Yale’s Naughty and Nice list:

Naughty

• 9:25 classes: I really thought this would be easy after high school… boy, was I wrong. 
• 5 days a week of language classes at 9:25: yes, it gets worse.
• TD: does this really need an explanation? The dining hall is bad enough, let alone the lice.
• Laundry fees: so Yale can bring in John Legend, no problem, but can’t pay for laundry?
• Printing fees: my high school could pay for free printing, but Yale can’t?
• Rainy and 50-degree weather in December: as both a lover of Christmas and a Wisconsinite, this weather is blasphemous. Where is the snow?
• Harvard parties: would be on the naughty list, if they actually existed.
• The new, new, new registration system: I’ve heard about at least five friends getting kicked out of “Criminal Minds.”
• “We open later for students at other colleges”: Silliman, Branford and Morse/Stiles need to get over their superiority complexes.
• When someone takes your laundry out: just when you paid $1.50 to clean your clothes, someone gets them dirty again.
• “I’m going to change the consulting industry from the inside”: sure, sure, everyone definitely believes you.

Nice

• Handsome Dan: seeing his adorably, ugly face always brings me joy.
• Handsome Dan’s handler: the Instagram is fantastic.
• JE: “a great dining experience” say the students of JE, and this author includes without bias.
• My first-year seminar professor: the open note, “open computer” quizzes were a blessing I never knew I needed. 
• Chicken Tender Thursday: truly a highlight of the week.
• Cinnamon Toast Squares: Yale’s best off-brand cereal.
• BD: great playlists, every time.
• Yale men memes: they never fail to give me a good laugh.
• Buttery and Acorn workers: we appreciate you.
• Dining hall staff: thank you for fueling this campus.
• Bass Library: love it or hate it, Bass will always be there for you at 2 a.m.
• My bed: always there for me at 2:15 when I finally get home from Bass.
• My friends: from movie nights to coffee runs to late night talks — all wonderfully intellectual, yet amusingly unproductive — thank you for making this the craziest, most exciting, best semester of my life.